


Passing Notes

by SmolPidge



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad girls being attracted to nerds?, F/M, It's more likely than you think!, Library AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 10:46:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14377035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolPidge/pseuds/SmolPidge
Summary: When Nyma finds herself working at the public library for the summer, she comes to realize that librarians don't have very social jobs. Out of boredom, she begins to flip through the books that have been returned before putting them back on the shelves. However, she ends up discovering a few that offer more than just the source material.





	Passing Notes

**Author's Note:**

> After worrying and worrying whether I was going to be able to upload this on time, it's finally here! This is my gift for @flowersheep for the VLD Ship Exchange on Tumblr. It's not my best work and I got writer's block for almost all of it, but at least it's here. Hope you enjoy!

If there was anything that Nyma regretted, it was deciding to work at the local library for the summer. Wanting to save up some money before moving away to college, she had figured that working there would be a low activity job where she’d be earning money for minimal labor. She was correct on that account, but almost too much so. Her only duties were to check books back in when people dropped them off in the bin and then put them back on the shelves.

  
She was also supposed to help anyone who needed it, but the library was hardly in use since school wasn’t in session, and the few regulars tended to come and go without a word. With a strict no phones policy and no coworkers to talk to in her corner of the library, Nyma often found herself flipping through the books that were returned. Although she had never been much of a reading type, it was at times like these where she didn’t have much of a choice. Sometimes, she’d run across something that was actually interesting, or better yet, she’d find drawings and messages on the pages or inside the cover. In cases like those, she’d have to add fines to the accounts of the people who last checked them out if they hadn’t been previously reported, but when boredom struck, things like that could brighten anyone’s day, even if it would cost someone else a dollar or two.

  
Three hours into her shift and with two left to go one Monday afternoon, Nyma almost jumped up in glee when a dude in glasses walked in. He was one of the regulars, and he was always sure to drop off a stack of books for her to peruse. Today was no different. Struggling a little, the guy slipped his books into the return bin one by one and then proceeded to lose himself in the rows and rows of shelves.

  
Once he had gone, Nyma excitedly picked them up and piled them up next to her chair. She’d been keeping careful watch of this guy since she rarely had anything better to do. She had learned that he mostly checked out sci-fi novels and medieval fantasies. He checked a dozen out at a time, only to have them finished within the week. Normally, this wouldn’t be of such large importance to Nyma, but this guy was unique for a specific reason: he never failed to write on the margins.

  
They were typically critiques about the science or mechanics used in the novel. He’d claim that certain events weren’t possible, give a page-long explanation as to why, and then suggested a better way of working that scene. He held nothing back; he didn’t hesitate in chewing the authors out, no matter how many awards the cover said they had won.

  
Other times, he would simply comment on his favorite parts, doodle frowning faces whenever someone died (unless it was the villain because he never seemed to like them anyway), or make cheesy puns whenever he had the chance.

  
Since he always wrote his additions in pencil, Nyma usually just erased the markings so that his account wouldn’t be overloaded with fees. She was sure to leave the best of them as they were, though. Even she could appreciate art when she saw it.

  
Nyma expected another batch of juicy comments this time around, so she immediately picked up the first page and began searching for his latest comments.   
Finally, some quality entertainment.

* * *

 

  
“Excuse me?” 

“Give me a second.” Nyma barely registered, busy reading the guy’s rant about the dangers of not double-modulating. Reluctantly setting the book down, she finally looked up. It wasn’t until then that she realized that she was talking to none other than the dude himself. 

“Can I renew my library card?” he asked, probably a little guilty that he had interrupted something. 

Excited that she was actually interacting with someone for once, Nyma nodded enthusiastically, pulling up the appropriate window on her desktop. Suddenly finding herself cramped, she pushed the book she’d been reading to the side. 

“Oh lord, you’re not reading what I write in there are you? I didn’t think anyone would notice… I-” the guy suddenly panicked, digging his hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet. “I must have tons of fees… I won’t do it again, I promise-” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Nyma assured him, trying to calm him down. She lowered his hand, which was already loaded with all the cash he had on him. “You’re notes are the only things that keep me sane around here nowadays.” 

“They are?” the guy mused, now seemingly a little amused with himself. 

“You don’t mind if I keep reading them, do you?” Nyma asked. Considering he had written them down on a book that anyone could check out, she assumed that he already knew someone was bound to come across them someday. However, knowing that a specific person was reading them, especially one that you were inevitably going to see again must be at least a little nerve-wracking. Sure, she’d probably keep on reading regardless of his answer, but she’d be mindful to stop whenever he around. 

“Meh, as long as I’m not being charged, I’m fine with that,” the guy shrugged, putting away his money. 

“Great!” Nyma exclaimed, almost forgetting what he had come to do. “Oh, I’m going to need your name.” 

“Matthew Holt,” he answered, sticking his hand out to her as if formally introducing himself. “I’d rather you call me Matt, though.” 

Nyma took his hand and gave him a firm shake. “Nyma.” 

Afterwards, she helped him out (after trying to remember the training she’d received weeks ago) and he left with another batch of books. 

“Knowing that you’ll be reading them, I’ll make sure my notes are top-notch this time around,” he winked as he left, almost dropping his load as he did so. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Nyma smiled, no longer dreading the shifts to come. 

* * *

 

   
The following week, Matt was sure not to disappoint. Comments that would only last a sentence were now covering the entire margin. It was beginning to get difficult to erase all of the marks, but Nyma didn't mind. If anything, it kept her busy.

  
Week after week, the notes increased. Nyma was beginning to end her shifts before getting through all of the material. She considered asking him to calm it, but judging by the excessiveness in which he did things, she concluded that doing so would leave her with no material at all. Instead, she picked up the pace and time trialed herself, seeing if she could get through a book within a certain time. Sometimes she'd have to pause to stop herself from cackling whenever he directed a comment directly at her, though she doubted anyone would have noticed anyway since the library was nearly empty. 

Nyma was sure to thank Matt whenever he showed up, and Matt would always wink back. It sort of became their own little thing. It made Nyma slightly sorry to see the end of summer come along. If quitting her job meant losing Matt's antics, then she wasn't so sure she'd particularly want to.   
One day, Matt came back in, this time opting to turn in the books in person rather than in the bin. 

"What brings you over here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in mock suspicion. 

After setting his pile down on the counter, he stretched his arms out and said, "Nothing much, just wanted to give you a heads up." 

"What for?" 

"Won't be here next week," he replied. 

"How come?" 

"Prior commitment. Dont worry, though; I've packed in some extra stuff to keep you entertained. If you organize it right, it might last you until the week after," Matt assured, motioning as if to adjust his glasses, only to find that they weren't on him. 

"Forgot your glasses?" Nyma guessed. 

"Oh, no," Matt dismissed. "I got lasic done and I'm still not used to not having them around." 

"Huh, the glasses look was kinda growing on me." 

Matt gave a brief chuckle. "Well, it's not exactly something you can undo, so you'll just have to bare with me." 

"Fine," Nyma rolled her eyes, unconvincingly trying to appear annoyed. 

Nyma sent him off afterwards. She was glad for the opportunity to talk to him once again, even if it had only been for a minute or two. It was about time to admit, she was going to miss him next week. 

* * *

 

  
That next week, Nyma’s eyes kept drifting to the door. She knew that Matt wouldn’t come, but she silently hoped he would anyway. Without him, she had nothing to look forward to during her Thursday shift. Her boredom reached a point where she decided that, for her own sanity, she needed to get out of her seat, even without any books to put away.

  
She found herself drifting between the fiction shelves, mindlessly reading the books’ spines. If she didn’t know any better, she would say she was going through withdrawal. Frightened by the thought that she actually might be, she headed back to her post. No matter where she was at, there was still nothing to do.

When she returned to her post, she was surprised to see a book laying in the deposit bin. Getting her hopes up, she picked it up. Her excitement drained out in an instant once she recognized it as a cook book from a recent winner of a popular cooking competition.   

Throwing herself back onto her chair, she opened it up. She had nothing better to do, and if she could just last another hour, she’d be free to leave. Bracing herself for a lesson in pasta-making, she flipped the first page over. Before she could get very far, though, a bright red mark on the corner of the first recipe caught her eye. It was a phone number. 

Quickly surveying the rest of the pages, she searched for any other notes. To her dismay, the number was all there was. It wasn’t a number that she recognized, but at that point, she was too curious to care. Without a second thought, she whipped out her phone and began punching in the numbers.   
She didn’t even have to wait more than a couple rings for the other line to pick up. “Hello?” 

“Matt?” Nyma asked, recognizing the voice on the other end. 

“Nyma, you found it!” he immediately followed up, sounding victorious. “I was afraid that you’d just put the book back without looking at it.” 

“Why? Did you need anything?” 

“Well, I told you that I wasn’t gonna show up this week, but I didn’t tell you why,” he began. 

“Yes?” 

“Well, right now, I’m actually at a convention downtown. My friend got sick and bailed on me last minute so I’ve got an extra badge if you want it-” 

“Wait, then who dropped off the book?” Nyma interrupted. 

“Oh, I checked out that book for my mom. She was going to drop it off but I managed to sneak in my number before she left.” 

“Smart.” 

“I know right?” Matt praised himself. “Anyway, I know you’re working right now, but any chance you can get down here anyway?” 

Taking a quick peek at the clock, Nyma responded, “Well, I’ve still got a little under an hour left, but I can’t possibly pass up the chance to see you nerd out in person, can I?” 

“Is that a yes?” 

“Are you dressed up?” 

"Excuse me?"

"You know, are you in one of those weird costumes that people at conventions wear."

Nyma almost thought the call had been cut when Matt didn’t immediately answer. “… yes…” he murmured, probably not having thought this through. 

“Then I wouldn’t miss it.” 

Perking up afterwards, Matt teased, “Sort of sounds like you’re looking forward to seeing me.” 

Pausing for a second, Nyma could only laugh and reply with, “Huh, guess I am. See you in fifteen.” 

“Logging off.” 

“Wait,” Nyma stopped him, grinning madly to herself after realizing an important detail. 

“Yeah?” 

“You didn’t use pencil this time.” 

“Crap.” 

“That was a new book, you know.” 

“Oh whatever I’ll pay for it later,” Matt sighed in defeat. 

“See ya, then.” 

“See ya.” 

The call ended there, and after making sure that there was another employee in the library, she snuck out, clocking out early. She wasn’t sure what the consequences would be, but she no longer cared. It wasn't like summer wasn't practically over anyway. Besides, now that she didn’t need the library to keep in touch with Matt anymore, what was the use in staying? 


End file.
